Congratulations on your excellent article on council housing (Safe as houses, G2, September 30). The arguments in favour of selling-off council houses, such as they were, were well presented as were the ramifications of the iniquitous "right to buy" legislation.

A great deal of pressure was placed on the beleaguered Callaghan government of the late 1970s to allow councils to dispose of properties. When this debate was being comprehensively aired in the press, I was chairman of a local authority housing committee. The authority was being run at that time by Plaid Cymru and while there was demand for us to sell houses, we were free of the dogma that plagued Labour and Conservatives when making our decision. The crucial factor that decided us against selling was one that I didn't read in the press. It is, simply, that housing authorities such as ours looked at a 10% annual turnover in tenancies. We had charge of some 12,500 properties which meant that we were able to contain our waiting lists by having some 1,250 re-lets at our disposal each year.

As you state, the SNP is looking at repealing the "right to buy" law. Lack of legislative powers in Cardiff means, however, that this badly needed reform may well be delayed here in Wales.Ben JonesCaerphilly

John Harris's feature on council house sales shows a predictable political bias. It is Labour-run councils like Hackney that are driving their leaseholders to despair and bankruptcy with exorbitant charges for external repairs, usually caused by years of negligence and mismanagement of council housing stock. These leaseholders are decent working-class people who have often invested all their savings in improving their homes. Harris is right, of course, that the government turns a blind eye to their plight.David PhillipsLondon